Daughter to Father
by ThaliaAnderson
Summary: First draft. Marlene is almost thirteen years old and Denzel is well into fourteen. While the older boy is trying to figure out how girls work, Marlene is uncovering her past - about her real parents and what happened to them.
1. Chapter 1

"What do you remember about your family, Denzel?"

Fourteen-year-old Denzel glanced up at his best friend, Marlene Wallace. She sat across from him at the table, staring intently at her orange juice. Her look of concentration made him smile.

"Nothing much," he replied honestly. "I know I must have had a family at some point or another, but this is my home now." He gestured at the walls around him. "Here, with Cloud and Tifa, and you."

Marlene smiled. "I don't live here," she reminded him.

"Practically."

She nodded softly. It seemed as though the conversation was already over.

"What about you?" Denzel wondered. Marlene glanced at him.

"What?"

"What do you remember about your family?"

"Nothing," she said quietly. "But I'm okay with that, too. Barrett is my father. He has been practically all my life. Why should I need to know who my real parents are when I have someone as wonderful as him?"

"You're lying," Denzel said practically.

Marlene's brown eyes stared back at him, filled with innocence. "Why would you think that?"

"We're not seven anymore. That doesn't work any longer."

The girl heaved a sigh. "I guess you're right," she admitted. "I _do _wonder, all the time, about my real parents. Who are they? Where are they? Why… why did they leave me?"

"Don't think about it," Denzel advised. "You're only worrying yourself. Your curiosity could get us into trouble again, like it did before."

"I believe that was _your _curiosity that got us into trouble. I went to save your sorry butt."

"It was the Geostigma talking. I can't be held accountable for anything."

"Oh, you're accountable, all right."

Denzel held in a laugh as his caretakers, Cloud Strife and Tifa Lockhart entered the room. "I don't like that look," Tifa remarked, eyeing Denzel warily. "What's on your mind?"

"Oh… nothing," he replied innocently, standing up from the table. He grabbed his empty breakfast plate and dumped the remains in the sink.

"Sure," Tifa replied, taking her seat. Her eyes wandered to Marlene. "Where's Barrett?" she asked casually.

"Home," the girl answered. "He has work later, which is why he dropped me off here this morning."

Tifa nodded. "We should open soon," she mused. "Cloud! Can you go unlock the door?"

The young man nodded curtly and crossed across the bar to unlock the door, promising to bring customers in a matter of minutes.

"Why don't you and Marlene head over to the park?" Tifa suggested to Denzel. The boy stood at the sink, washing his plate. He glanced over his shoulder and frowned.

"Tifa!" he complained. "We're not little kids anymore. We can't spend all our time doing nothing at the park."

Marlene jumped to her feet. "No way!" she replied. "The park is amazing." She jogged over and grabbed her friend's hand. "Let's go! It'll be great!"

"O…kay?" Denzel stumbled along after the younger girl and the two disappeared out the door.

Tifa threw a look to Cloud, who shrugged in response. "You know how kids are," he replied, watching as the door banged shut after the two.

* * * * *

"Marlene, what is up with you?" Denzel finally pulled away from the girl's grasp. "Why are you suddenly so hyper? Just a few minutes ago, you were spiraling into a self-induced depression."

"Maybe its hormones," she replied curtly. "Why do you care?"

"'Cause I'm me. Do I need another reason?"

Marlene glanced at the ground. "I'm thinking," she replied after a moment. "There has to be something that our families left behind. Somewhere. Maybe we can go back to the orphanage, and find out!"

"Marlene, you're dreaming," the teen replied. "Why can't you be satisfied with simply knowing that you have a family? _Here_. _Now._ Barrett. He's your family. Me. Cloud. Tifa. We're all your family. Why doesn't that make you happy?"

Marlene hung her head. "Back me up, Denzel," she said. "You're my best friend. I just want to know _who _they are. Nothing more." Denzel gave her a skeptical look. "_Please_," she begged. "I'll leave it alone as soon as I find out!"

The boy sighed and nodded slowly. "You're only getting names," he instructed. He could see her eyes light up. "Nothing more. We find out who they are and then we're going home. …Or to the park."

Marlene nodded eagerly. "Okay, whatever you say! Thank you!" She threw her arms around the older boy. "You're the greatest!"

Denzel chuckled. "Yeah, I know. Let's just get this over with, alright?" She nodded again.

"You'll never even remember we were there."


	2. Chapter 2

The _Hopeful Rose _orphanage was only a few short blocks away from Tifa's bar. The two reached it in a matter of silent minutes. Marlene seemed to be bouncing as she walked. Denzel made a careful note of her behavior.

Marlene shoved the door open without caution. She was completely excited and Denzel couldn't understand why. He got chills every time he walked by the place. Bad memories lingered there for him.

"Marlene? Denzel?" a confused voice called carefully. Marlene's already bright face glowed more as they came face-to-face with the caretaker of the orphanage, Ms. Roby, approached them. "Is it really you?"

"Ms. Roby!" Marlene squealed in delight and she ran to the woman's arms. Denzel tilted his head as he watched the two embrace. Ms. Roby was a young woman, maybe in her very early thirties. Her face showed no sign of wrinkles despite the stressful position she upheld. Denzel and Marlene had been her favorite charges when they'd lived there, not long ago.

"Denzel, I see you standing there," the young lady scolded. "Why don't you come over here?" Denzel awkwardly approached her, feeling odd and she wrapped her arms around him. It may have been a comforting gesture when he was six, but it just made him feel weird now.

"You're all grown up," she commented, seeming to sense his disease. "How old are you? Twelve? Thirteen?"

"Fourteen," he muttered, eyes averted to the ground.

"Fourteen?" Ms. Roby's eyes widened at the response. "That'd make this young lady right here twelve years old?" She glanced back at Marlene, who was beaming beside her. "Heaven sakes, you'll probably be _dating _soon, too."

Marlene giggled at the thought, but the comment made Denzel's face go red. He didn't think about girl's that way very often, but it seemed to be happening more and more to him lately. Even if he was just taking a walk and he happened to see a girl on the street, he'd stop a moment and fantasize about what could happen if they ever met. Honestly, it embarrassed him.

"We're still just kids," Marlene assured her, knocking Denzel back into the real world and away from his own thoughts. He took a second and stared at the girl's face, realizing for the first time just how much of an age gap rested between them. People would give them odd looks if they ever started going out.

There he was, doing it again. This was insane. He'd been thinking about Marlene. _Marlene. _Young, cheery, Marlene. His best friend, Marlene. How wrong was that? _Don't be stupid,_ he told himself dryly.

"Well, you look like you're here on a mission," Ms. Roby said suddenly, noting the Denzel's intense gaze on the floor. His brown eyes snapped up to face the woman and he nodded.

"Marlene needed some information," he explained simply.

Ms. Roby turned her gray eyes to the younger girl. "I wanted to know about…" Marlene trailed off, suddenly seeming uncomfortable, as if she were rethinking coming there. "Well, I wanted to know about my parents. I mean, my real parents," she added at Ms. Roby's confused face.

"Dear-y, I'm not sure if we'd have that information," she replied, somewhat uncouthly. "But, I can check our files and see if we might have anything." Ms. Roby straightened from their height and turned to the back room. Marlene sighed and plopped herself onto the couch resting beside the front desk. Her cheery mood was gone.

Denzel followed her actions and rested himself beside her. He cast a forlorn glance at her, and when she looked up at him, he gave her a reassuring smile. "We'll find something," he promised.

The girl nodded and returned his smile with her own cheesy grin. "You're right. I shouldn't be so pessimistic."

Denzel nodded and turned back to staring at an old painting across the room. It was a simple scene; a park and a few trees. Two people sat carelessly on a bench, seeming to have a peaceful time with one another.

His mind unwillingly drifted off and suddenly, he was seeing Marlene and himself in the painting, sharing a good time together. It had happened before – they were friends, after all. But this picture depicted something besides friendship. Something else entirely.

He had to stop himself from raising his hand to smack his forehead. He had to stop doing this. Even if it meant thinking about strange girls more often.

"Marlene?" Ms. Roby called from one of the back rooms. Marlene jumped to her feet and skipped merrily towards the woman. Denzel watched her go, wondering how much it would crush her if they didn't find anything.

"Did you find my parents?" she asked expectantly, her brown eyes shining.

Ms. Roby bit her lower lip and shook her head. "I'm afraid not. At least, not much," she added, seeing Marlene's face fall. "We only could find one thing."

"What is it?" she asked excitedly. Denzel watched strenuously from the bench. He hoped, for Marlene's sake, it was something that would help her quest.

"Only their names," Ms. Roby said dishearteningly.

"Oh," the girl frowned a bit. "What are they?"

"Eleanor and Dyne. There wasn't a last name." Ms. Roby patted Marlene's shoulder comfortingly. "I wish I could help more."

"No, it's alright," she murmured, looking a tad crestfallen. "Really. I appreciate your help." She gave Ms. Roby a quick smile and turned for the door. Denzel scrambled to his feet and followed his friend to the entrance.

He called a goodbye over his shoulder to the caretaker and pulled the door open for Marlene. "Tell everyone hi for me," Ms. Roby called quickly before the door thudded shut behind the two.

Marlene turned for the direction of the park, head dipped towards the ground, eyes downcast. Denzel strode awkwardly beside her, ignoring the weird stares they received.

"Hey…" he trailed off, stopping suddenly on the sidewalk. Marlene raised her dark eyes to him, waiting for the rest of the sentence to follow. "I… I'm sorry," he finally got out.

Marlene shrugged. "It'll be okay. I mean, I really wanted to know more about them, but… maybe it's better this way. I should probably forget about it, like you said."

Denzel nodded, not quite agreeing with her.

"Don't worry," she said cheerily, grabbing his hand and towing him towards the park. "I told you – you won't remember we were ever there."

And it seemed, even just for a moment, everything was back to normal.


End file.
